Monday, May 8, 2023

Sleepless Nights by Lizzie Bravo

 Beatle friends, I have a treat for you!  I know that most of you have been waiting for Lizzie Bravo's book to be published in English.   No word on when/if that is going to happen.  But I found a few of Lizzie's diary entries that she translated for "With A Little Help From My Friends" newsletter in 1985.  At that time, her book was titled "Sleepless Nights."   I will be adding one entry a day over the next week or so


Enjoy!


Photo by Lizzie Bravo (I included it because it was the photograph from the article)


Wednesday, May 31, 1967 -  I went with my friend Paula to Cavendish.  She was very excited as she had never seen Paul or any of the others before.  We learned from the girls that Paul, Jane, John and Ringo left in John's black Mini just before we arrived.  "Stick" (Mr. Kelly, Paul's housekeeper) went out to walk Martha.  Anthony (John's chauffeur) arrived driving Cyn's caramel Porsche.  There was another man inside the car.  The police are chasing us all the time -- it's terrible.  Our feet hurt from walking around the block over and over again.  John and Paul arrived together in one car.  Ringo and Jane were not there.  The gates were closed very quickly and we had to rush to the other side of the road to try to see them going in the front door. Paul was wearing black trousers and his "joker" jacket (green and blue).  John had on red trousers and a short flowered jacket.  We went to EMI to see if they were recording tonight, and the answer is no.

When we went back to Cavendish the girls told us Jane and her mother had just arrived.  After a few minutes the gates were opened and we rushed to see who was coming out, but it was only Mrs. Asher.  We went to the corner of the street to see if all was "clear" (of cops, of course), and as we were returning we noticed the gates were open.  We rushed there.  The front door was open.  Paul came jumping down the steps and got into the car beside Terry Doran, who was driving.  John was already inside, in the back.  Terry had to get out of the car to close the gates, since Mr. Kelly was out.  The car windows are dark, and you can only see faint shadows through them.  We were trying to see them through the windows.  Paula rushed to Paul's side and was lucky enough that he had left the little side window open.  He had the end of a cigarette in his left hand resting on his thigh.  Paula was in shock -- it's the first time she's seen him so close.  One of the girls had the cheek to open Paul's door -- he grabbed the door and without looking at her said, "Come on..."  John did something really cute:  he knocked on the window so I knew where he was, and as I got closer to see him, he smiled through the dark glass.  He really melts my heart with these sweet little things he does.  The car finally left and I had to "assist" Paula, who was in the middle of the road, suffering from "total paralysis and amnesia"--a common thing for first-timers.  I know how she feels, for I can well remember the first time I saw John, only a few months ago.  We saw Jane upstairs in their bedroom, apparently making the bed.  Paula left for her hotel and I went home and slept really late.  



8 comments:

  1. What other diary entries does Lizzie have? I’m curious to see more of them. She’s so insightful on stories and encounters.

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  2. While the Beatles had no session at EMI that night, they did record at Trident between 9pm and 3:30am, recording "Baby You're A Rich Man". This would certainly be where John and Paul were going in the car.

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  3. Also, May 11th, 1967 was a Thursday, not Wednesday.

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    1. I am sorry. I am typing this from an old photocopy and I misread the date. It was May 31, 1967.

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  4. I recently purchased a copy of Lizzie's book and was told by a family member of Lizzie's that there are plans to publish an English version. They are in the process of finding an international publisher.

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  5. looking forward to all Lizzie

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  6. Thank you for taking the time to post these, Sara. I always appreciate the effort you put in on your site. I look forward to whatever else you choose to post from Lizzie's diary entries.

    I'll be at the front of the queue when an English version of her book is released! I really wish she was still with us!

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